Alabama

The candidates in the Republican primary for Alabama's 6th Congressional district in 2014 are, from bottom left, Scott Beason, Will Brooke, Paul DeMarco, Chad Mathis, Gary Palmer, Robert Shattuck, and Tom Vigneulle. The primary is Tuesday, June 3, 2014.

BIRMINGHAM,
Alabama – Alabama state Rep. Paul DeMarco is leading the pack in the
Republican race to represent Alabama's 6th Congressional district,
according to a poll conducted for the Alabama Forestry Association, though a
plurality of voters remain undecided.

DeMarco had 24 percent of the vote, with Alabama state Sen.
Scott Beason in second with 17 percent of the vote. Indian Springs orthopedic
surgeon Chad Mathis came in a close third, with 14 percent.

Will Brooke, a
Harbert Management executive, and Gary Palmer, a co-founder of the Alabama Policy
Institute, are essentially tied for fourth in the race, with Brooke at 8
percent and Palmer at 7 percent. Pelham small businessman Tom Vigneulle had two
percent, and retired Mountain Brook attorney Robert Shattuck did not register
on the poll.

27 percent of the respondents remain undecided.

DeMarco and Beason both had high name-recognition, with
DeMarco having 62 percent overall recognition, 51 percent positive. Beason had
51 percent name recognition, but 24 percent negative recognition, which was the
highest among all the candidates. Mathis' recognition was 35 percent, with 28
percent positive. Brooke's name registered with 28 percent of the respondents,
and Palmer's with 33 percent. Shattuck and Vigneulle both had very low
recognition.

DeMarco polled best in the "over the mountain" areas of
Vestavia Hills and Hoover, while Beason fared well in Gardendale and Blount
County, but had low support in Mountain Brook and Hoover.

The primary is Tuesday, June 3. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two vote getters will face off in a run-off.

In run-off scenarios, DeMarco would beat all comers, with 11
percent over Beason and 18 percent over Mathis, according to the poll. Beason would win over Mathis, Brooke, and Palmer, and Mathis would win over Brooke and Palmer.

Hoover-based pollster Larry Powell conducted the poll for
the Alabama Forestry Association, a membership organization representing the
forestry industry in Alabama. 401 random voters in the 6th District
responded to the telephone poll May 6-9. According to Powell's report, the
sample was balanced according to all known demographic factors. The margin of error
for the poll was +4.9 percent, with a 95 percent confidence level.